The 411 Movies Top 5: The Top 5 Alan Rickman Movies

The 411 Movies Top 5: Hello everyone and welcome to 411 Movies Top 5 List. We take a topic each week and all the writers here on 411 wrestling will have the ability to participate and give us their Top 5 on said topic. So, onto this week’s topic…

The Top 5 Alan Rickman Movies

Bryan Kristopowitz
5. HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER’S STONE – This is the only Harry Potter movie I’ve actually seen, so I have no idea how Rickman’s Snape character evolves over the series (haven’t read any of the books, either, so I really don’t know much about the world of Harry Potter). However, Rickman is a total prick in this, standoffish and brimming with an assumed evil that makes you despise him. And since he seems to be so against Harry and his friends, how could you like him anyway? I think I need to see the other movies in the series, just to see how it all works out.

4. ROBIN HOOD: PRINCE OF THIEVES – I always thought that Rickman seemed bored in this movie. Here he was, once again, playing the villain in a big hooha studio picture, and while he was good he also seemed sort of out of place. Shouldn’t the Sheriff be a little less cynical? He’s in cahoots with a witch, shouldn’t he be a little more overtly malevolent? Shouldn’t he be a little more into the black magic practiced by the witch? It all works in the end, though. You can’t keep Rickman down. And who could forget his big “spoon” line? “Why a spoon, cousin? Why not an axe?” “Because it’s dull, you twit. It’ll hurt more.” Ha.

3. DOGMA – I never thought I’d actually see Alan Rickman in a Kevin Smith movie, but he showed up as the voice of God in Dogma, one of the least excruciating movies on Smith’s director resume. Rickman’s performance works because he knows the movie, while dealing with heavy religious questions and whatnot, is fundamentally ridiculous. He is completely in on the joke, and as a result everything he says is hilarious. And really, God probably does sound like Alan Rickman anyway. The man had a great speaking voice.

2. GALAXY QUEST -Sir Alexander Dane is a bitter, broken, somewhat paranoid actor who used to be a serious thespian but, because of being typecast as an alien on a cheesy sci-fi TV show, he can’t get away from being that cheesy alien. Every single time he does a personal appearance as that alien he freaks out because he can’t believe that he’s still appearing as that alien. And when he ends up getting flung into space to help real aliens fight for their lives, he still can’t let go of that bitterness. I love it how, even in the midst of being in space for real, Dane doesn’t take off his head appliance. In fact, he keeps that thing on, even when it itches and starts coming off his head, when pieces of it start falling off, etc. It’s comedic genius. And who could forget Dane saying “the line,” the one line he absolutely despises because it’s the only thing anyone ever wants to hear him say, but saying it with unbridled rage and conviction? “By Grabthar’s hammer, by the suns of Worvan, you shall be avenged!” Amazing, brilliant stuff. Too bad we never got a sequel.

1. DIE HARD– Hans Gruber is a complete douchebag. He’s suave and sophisticated, yes, but he’s also a malevolent prick and a murderer, not to mention a thief. He stages a terrorist attack and a hostage situation so he can open a super vault filled with enough riches to make him (and maybe Theo) a very wealthy man until the day he dies. He’s also wiling to kill his own men in order to get what he wants. What a goddamn douchebag! If Gruber isn’t the villain of the 1980’s action movie scene he’s definitely in the top 5. Rickman’s finest, most memorable role. Falling off the top of Nakatomi Tower, shocked that it’s happening, with that music blaring in the background. A true modern Christmas tradition.

Wednesday Lee Friday
5. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) – Obviously, Severus Snape is a great character, and Rickman infuses him with sheer hatred for Harry Potter in every installment. This one is my favorite since Snape is truly humanized for the first time. Conflicted over events with Draco Malfoy, Dumbledore, and his own personal tragedies—Rickman gives Snape an almost endearing quality (and make no mistake—I think Snape is a complete a-hole) in this film, and keeps that going through the end of the series.

4. GalaxyQuest (1996) – What’s left to say about this wonderful film? Everybody loves this sci-fi classic that features Alan Rickman as Alexander Dane—an Alec-Guiness-style actor who despite a long and distinguished career is remembered solely for his turn as an alien in a campy sci-fi show. GalaxyQuest also features Sigourney Weaver (hilariously saying the F-word and being dubbed over), Tony Shaloub, Missy Pyle, Sam Rockwell, and Justin Long. Haven’t seen this one? By Grabthar’s hammer, by the suns of Warvan—you must.

3. Rasputin (1996) – When HBO makes a movie, they don’t mess around. Alan Rickman plays Grigori Rasputin in a movie that pulls no punches. This one also features Ian McKellen as Tzar Nicholas, plus James Frain, David Warner, and Greta Scacchi. Not entirely historically accurate, but a lot of fun for the excellent performances and rampant HBO-style violence. You’ll really hope everything turns out well for this royal family. Spoiler Alert: It doesn’t.

2. Closetland (1991) – It’s rare that compelling cinema can be pulled off with only two characters in a single room. Closetland does just that—with Rickman as the savage Interrogator and Madeleine Stowe as a children’s book author accused of indoctrinating children with radical political messages. Rickman is terrifying as the sadistic chameleon-like member of the secret police. This is an intriguing and tense film that’s unlike anything else Rickman has done.

1. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) – Rickman is downright evil as the judge who sent Johnny Depp to prison on a false charge, so he could sleep with his wife. Judge Turpin beats on a boy for looking at his ward, sentences a child to hang by the neck until dead, and when an underage girl turns him down for marriage—he has her sent off to a mental asylum. Still, we can’t take our eyes off him. Rickman sings alongside Johnny Depp (who learned to sing for this movie) and Timothy Spall, and is utterly delightful. It’s kind of a shame that he doesn’t end up in a pie.

YOUR TURN KNOW IT ALLS

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